C.J. Stroud Bringing 'Winning Tradition' to Texans: 'That's All I Care About'

The Houston Texans were widely expected to select a defensive player with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of Thursday's 2023 NFL draft. Instead, they selected star quarterback C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State.

While speaking with NFL Network's Melissa Stark after being drafted, Stroud talked about what he can bring to the franchise.

"I bring me. I bring a man of God. I bring a leader. I bring somebody who's going to go to work every day and work their tail off," Stroud said. "Somebody who comes from a winning tradition. Somebody who wants to win, and that's all I care about, man. So, I'm going to be the best teammate, the best leader, the best quarterback I can be."

Stroud was the second quarterback off the board behind Alabama's Bryce Young, who was chosen first overall by the Carolina Panthers.

The 21-year-old spent three seasons at Ohio State, finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2021 and third last season. He put together an impressive 2022 campaign, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 3,688 yards and 41 touchdowns against six interceptions in 13 games, helping OSU reach the College Football Playoff.

Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department ranked Stroud as the best quarterback in the 2023 class and the sixth-best prospect overall.

B/R NFL scout Derrik Klassen wrote of Stroud leading up to the draft:

"In the right environment, Stroud will raise the floor of an offense right away. He's got the pre-snap vision, arm talent and accuracy to be functional sooner rather than later, and the progress he showed as the year went on suggests he has a capacity to improve rapidly.

"Still, his ceiling feels more good than great, at least until he proves he can be more aggressive out of structure and comfortable in muddied pockets, which he barely had to deal with at Ohio State. Stroud can be an effective rookie-contract quarterback while trying to add more of an edge to his game."

The Texans will hope Stroud can replicate the success he had with the Buckeyes, and they certainly envision him as their franchise quarterback following their trade of Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns last offseason.

Davis Mills, a 2021 third-round pick by Houston, started 26 games at quarterback over the last two seasons, but he was underwhelming at best, and now he'll likely be Stroud's backup.

There's a new era brewing in Houston, and the selection of Stroud was only just the beginning.